Reduce Nitrogen. Safely.
Hardyfield helps farmers reduce use of synthetic fertiliser, without the financial risk of lower short term yields.
How does Hardyfield work?
Identify supply chain
Hardyfield runs projects for food and water companies in a specific supply chain (e.g. cereals, dairy) and/or catchment areas.
Farmers choose
Farmers choose how much N to reduce (at the farm level) and are given financial and practical support to manage the transition.
An insurance product that guarantees gross margin, based on revenue net of savings from reduced N usage. The policy controls for factors such as weather, disease, and force-majeure.
Provided free to enrolled farmers, giving them advice and full discretion on what practices to adopt to improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) and counteract the reduced synthetic inputs.
Easy to collect data
Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) data is easy to collect (e.g. receipts, photos, satellite images), without adding to the existing burden on farmers.
Verified impact
Based on proven N reductions, we calculate the associated reduction in Scope 3 emissions and improvements in water quality. This is shared with FoodCo/WaterCo via a dashboard.
Improved resilience
Over time, the supply chain and catchment become more resilient to climate and economic shocks. Soil health and water quality improve, and farms become more profitable.
Why focus on Nitrogen?
Nitrogen fertiliser has been a miracle for growing food, but we now realise it comes at a cost. It accounts for 22% of the UK's agricultural emissions, damages soil health and leeches into our rivers.
Climate impact
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is 273 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.
Carbon footprint
Manufacturing ammonium nitrate is energy-intensive.
Water & air quality
Nitrogen leaches into watercourses, causing toxic algae blooms.
Economic waste
Over half of the fertiliser applied can leech into the environment rather than being used by the crop.
Soil health
Over-application of N suppresses the soil microbiome, killing off beneficial fungi that support plant growth.
Want to learn more?
Get in touch with the team to discuss how we can help you reduce inputs or validate outcomes.